Search This Blog

Feds Hold Hearing into Recent Air Show Crashes

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a
hearing at their headquarters on Tuesday in Washington D.C. to discuss the
safety of air shows and air races. The hearing was held to discuss whether the
safety standards and requirements that are already in place are enough to
prevent tragedies like the fatal crash that occurred last September at the Reno
Air Races, when stunt pilot Jimmy Leeward crashed his World War II-era plane in
front of the VIP section of the grandstands, killing himself and 10 other
people. Around 70 people were also badly injured in the tragedy.

Witnesses from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as
well as those from private aviation organizations were called upon to discuss
the safety oversight if air shows, air races, planes and pilots. The consensus
in the room was that current safety regulations are enough to protect air show
and air race spectators and performers. "At this point, I'm not aware of
any changes - at least any significant or substantive changes - to the policy
and guidance we have in place," said deputy director of the FAA John McGraw.
After the Reno crash, the FAA separated the regulatory practices of air shows,
where performers perform aerobatic stunts, and air races, where pilots race in
proximity to other planes at low elevations reaching speeds of up to 700 miles
per hour.

The NTSB held Tuesday's hearing because in addition to the
Reno Air Race crash, five air show performers were also killed last year. The
agency was particularly interested in discussing whether spectators at these
events should be moved farther away from potential danger and whether flight
directors at events should be regulated. NTSB officials were surprised to find
that "air bosses" - the people responsible for directing aircraft
during air races and air shows - are not subject to any certification standards.
Air bosses have a similar job to air-traffic controllers and yet are not
subject to the same safety standards. "Performers are assuming a certain
level of risk, said NTSB chair Deborah Hersman. "But when spectators come
out to an event, they are coming to be entertained and they don't expect to be
in a situation where their lives are at risk."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Six people died on May 13, 2019, in a collision between two
floatplanes in Alaska that has safety experts cautioning passengers about small
aircraft. Alaska has been the site of three fatal small plane crashes in just
over one week, in addition to several across the US in recent months, highlighting
the many safety issues concerning small planes. Experts say the problem
lies in having fewer regulations over smaller, privately owned aircraft
compared with commercial airlines. Floatplanes Carrying Tourists
Both floatplanes involved in the collision carried tourists
from a Princess Cruises ship on a stopover in Ketchikan, Alaska. One of the
companies offered an excursion sold through Princess Cruises, while the other
was independently provided. The tourists were being taken to Ketchikan from the
Misty Fjords National Monument area at around 12:21 pm local time when the two
small planes—both float-equipped—collided at approximately 3,350 feet.
Bodies of 2 missing after Alaska float plane…

Hundreds of
passengers aboard a Viking Ocean Cruises ship experienced a dramatic rescue by
helicopter, with several later hospitalized, when the Viking Sky suffered
engine failure in the middle of incredibly stormy seas. Passengers told
reporters about their harrowing ordeals, either of being airlifted off the
listing ship in the darkness or remaining onboard and praying the vessel did
not sink. Officials are now questioning why the ship was in the sea at all,
given warnings about stormy weather, and how multiple engines failed at the
same time. Given the
number of people onboard the Viking Sky when its engines failed, it is
incredibly lucky that there were not more severe injuries, a common concern in boating accidents. What
Happened on the Viking Sky? On March
14, the Viking Sky cruise ship began a 12-day voyage from the city of Bergen,
in Norway. After it left the city of Tromso, on its way to Stavanger, the
ship's four engines shut down as the vessel encountered a massive storm…